i have 100 mile bike ride June 2. how many days rest beforehand?

Question

i train 22 miles a day, three days on, one day off. Should i vary my training?

Answer 1

both good answers so far, You do need to be doing longer rides, 22-50 is fine for during the week but on your day off of work you need to long some miles. I would not recommend going into a 100 miler without having gone at least 75 a couple times. Another thing to consider is if you are doing this ride with friends or solo. It's been my experience that you never complete a group 100 miler as fast as you think you will (or could by yourself). It seems that someone always has to stop, at every rest stop somebody else has to pee or has a flat or needs water or.....So be prepared to spend more time on the course then you expect. As far as a taper, I agree you do not want too much rest the week before, this will leave you stale. General rule for a good taper, cut back duration by 1/2 cut back frequency by 1/4 and put intensity where you expect to ride the event at. So roughly if your training 5 days a week for a total of 200 miles the last week should be around 3 days and 100 miles.(just an example not actual training recommendation) you can even ride a LITTLE faster then you plan to ride in the event so it feels easy when you start the event. Ride safe and good luck

Answer 2

If you have been training in this manner, you are very prepared to do a 22 mile bike ride. You probably have the stamina to ride twice that distance. Your body will likely cry in agony over 100 miles. That's a very long distance.

Another poster had asked about preparing for a 100km ride around the same time. Over the next 4 weeks you should increase your daily ride gradually to at least 60 miles. One day off a week is plenty as cycling does not "pound" your body.

About a week before your ride, get out and go 80-100 miles. Take the next day off then go back to more normal length rides. Make sure you get out there and do a moderate ride the day before. Good luck.

Answer 3

I would begin to up the miles right away. I would work up to a 50 or 60 mile long weekend ride. Rule of thumb is that you can generally manage about twice as long as your routine long ride.

Regarding rest beforehand, I would not rest the day before. I would ride a normal week but do not do any high intensity miles. I find that legs become stale after a rest day. You don't want this feeling on century day.

Answer 4

You really need to get out and do a couple _much_ longer rides before the century. Sometime between now and two weeks before the event you need to at least _try_ to ride 100 miles. Target this ride for the weekend of may 19/20. Plan the 100 miles on sat or sun, then do your 22 miles on the other day.

22 miles a day during the week to fit your work/life schedule is fine, but you should be riding well over 50 miles on each weekend day, a minimum of 100 miles combined for sat/sun.

After you do this 'test' 100 miler, go back to your routine of 22 miles rides during the week, and do the 50+ milers on the next weekend. The week before the _real_ century, ride about one hour a day, at a moderate pace. Keep your heart rate in the low aerobic zone (60-70%).

Don't forget to eat lots of carbohydrates in the few days before the century - pasta for three nights. Bring plenty of food on the ride. Don't be afraid of foods with a higher fat content.

Fat is highly underrated as a fuel source. The problem with carbohydrate based sources is that inexperienced riders tend to overdo it, and this can lead to an insulin imbalance, which will lead to fatigue. For extended activity in an aerobic zone - which your century qualifies as - you need a more balanced approach to nutrition, rather than the high carbohydrate diet racers use.

The preceding two paragraphs may sound contradictory, but they are not.

Eating lots 'o carbs in the days before the event will top off your glycogen stores for those short intense efforts you might encounter like a small climb, but a good portion of it will be converted to fat. Fat is what you will be burning for most of this event.

Here's an anecdote: After racing season I often go out for long MTB rides with my club, 3-4 hours worth. I would stop at McDonalds on the way to the ride, have a baconeggcheese biscuit and hash browns, a carton of whole milk and a large orange juice. At the beginning of the ride, I'm lagging behind the group, especially on the climbs. This was partially intentional since I didn't eat for intensity, but endurance. I don't want to make myself barf. Then, they start to get hungry. After two hours, the food is in my system, fueling a steady high aerobic effort. The other guys are struggling and I'm riding away from them on the hills.

This works for me, and was happened upon after years of trial and error. I wouldn't try anything new for your century coming up.